Glide Memorial Church held its ‘Senior Holiday Social’ in Freedom Hall Tuesday, providing seniors in the community an opportunity to join together for a free turkey lunch, live music, raffles, prizes and more.

A fiery crowd of as many as 50 seniors and their supporters including green-clad, Doctor Seuss-styled grinches, rallied this afternoon in front of Wells Fargo Bank at the intersection of Market and Grant streets, calling on the national bank to halt its evictions of struggling homeowners and to change its foreclosure practices.

Nearly half of America is poor or “near-poor,” government statistics show—below or near the poverty line, barely making ends meet. Anywhere from 1.5 million to 3.5 million Americans are homeless, and one in six children go hungry. Yet here in Berkeley, California, one of the country’s most famously liberal cities, business leaders aim to fine homeless people $75 for sitting on the sidewalk in commercial strips.

For the past three years, Irma Garcia has been battling far more than homelessness on the streets of South San Francisco. Garcia struggles with mental illness, including severe depression. Her greatest challenge, however, is the lack of a support system.